Anybody have any luck with the saws they sell at Home Depot/Lowe's/WalMart/Etc. ? I'm seeing 18" McCulloch's and Homelite's for around $149. Going back a bit, they were both great brands - how are they now? Kind of been spoiled over the years with the Scandinavian makes.
Lowes sells Husqvarna here. Not sure what you can get for $150 new. You gonna buy one ? Mt guess is thry're Not gonna match up with your jonsereds for quality
I got a husky 445 rancher at lowes about 6 yrs ago. More like $400. They have smaller saws for less $
McCulloch & Homelite you see now are junk compared to what they were in the 50's to the early 80's. Not even the same companies now. McCulloch Motors Inc. filed for Chapter 11 in 1999 & was sold by the banks.A Taiwanese maker of lawn/garden equipment (Jeng Feng I believe) bought the name & in 2007 Husqvarna bought it from them,its now one of their subsidiaries - using it on their low end saws.Also have push mowers,riding mowers & snowblowers but I've never seen any of those locally.
Home Depot and lowes sell good name brand saws Echo & Husqvarna... The term box saw gets used far too loosely in my opinion. Echo is my favorite brand personally but husky is also very good. Poulan is the real box saw brand as is McCulloch they are cheap saws meant for the home owner. Husky is the parent company for Poulan and McCulloch as well as a few others. All that said the only good Poulan is the PP5020 it is really a decent saw especially for the cost. The guys on AS and a few other forums have torn them apart and really like them. I used one at the husky dealer and was impressed as well. http://www.amazon.com/Poulan-Pro-PP5020AV-20-Inch-Carrying/dp/B0052EL9YU As for homelite the new ones are junk.
Some of them are good for what you pay but you will wear them out in time. Also there throw away if you dont work on them yourself. For example a carb rebuild will cost $50 at a dealer. You can get a husky 235 on sale for like $170 but its a 35cc saw. But I have used one when I rebuilt the carb for a buddy , I was unimpressed but I like big saws. For the money it was decent. Good AV. I have a 96 poulan 2175 and there is no AV it is awful l, never noticed it before but after running good saws and running one that I bought recently it is noticeable.
If I was away from home and somehow found myself needing to buy a saw to cut up a tree, it would probably be the Poulan Pro 5020. Unless is was a really small tree, lol, then just about anything would work. Best big box deal available IMO. Maybe not the best SAW available from the big box stores, but def the best deal.
Almost bought a Poulan Pro 5020, when they were $165 at amazon ,it's a little heavy 12.5lbs for a 50cc saw
Thanks for the info guys. I apologize for the term "Big Box Stores" in the header (seems that appears to be a sticking point). I was more interested in where makes like McCulloch, Poulan and Homelite fit now-days, and how they could be so inexpensive. Echo and Husqvarna are great saws, as are Jonsereds (even if bought at Tractor Supply/Lowes/etc.). Pete, in my opinion a "box saw" is one that was shipped on a pallet, then priced and stacked on a shelf (no set up/sharpen/assembly) and where the employees in the store probably have never even run a saw. The new saws I've bought have all been from chainsaw dealers, the used ones have been from loggers.
I have not seen a Homelite or McCullough branded product worth bothering with since the mid-90s. Both are now just names that get bought and used by any company that wants to peddle its low-quality merchandise here.
Yea the new ones are throw away. Because even though most parts are available, the price of parts and or labor if you dont do it yourself quickly approach the replacement value of the saw !!
I bought a 45cc Homelite for $100 at Home Depot on a return shelf 6 years ago. It had not even been used yet so I though " why not" what a turd! It didn't even make it through the day before it started to flood and not oil. I took it back and said never again...
Echo would be my top pick...more than likely a cs-400 ! Ive been wanting to try one out..as it has all good reviews
